Krokofant

Krokofant’s sound is deeply rooted in the 70s, with subtle nods to King Crimson, Soft Machine, combined with a strong John Coltrane influence from Jørgen. Even though this is not a rare thing in today’s plethora of Norwegian jazz/rock bands, their sound is still quite unique, and Krokofant stands as one of the founders of the current progressive jazz sounds.

Over a longer period, Krokofant has included organist Ståle Storløkken and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. With two albums, loads of concerts and raving reviews with this line-up, this constellation is over for now – and Krokofant is back again as a trio with Tom Hasslan on guitar, Jørgen Mathisen on saxophone, and Axel Skalstad on drums.

The resurrection of the trio has been a doozy for the band and has rekindled the joy of a more intense improvisational interplay and fun of making songs together again. While the quintet was more of a playground for Hasslan´s prog-rock compositions, the trio is more focused on the collective and sculpting the music together rather than the more rigid song structures of the quintet.